New sportsbook bettors guide: iGaming News

The iGaming sportsbook industry has matured into an unstoppable machine that rakes in billions of dollars per year worldwide. The most successful executives fly private jets, hobnob with shareholders and live high on the hog. No matter how you slice it, the growth over the last decade has been remarkable.

In a world with a population of more than 7 billion, there are still plenty of fish left in the sea.

Despite all the successes of the industry, the stockpiles of cash in Swiss banks, a giant untapped base of players is floating about in cyberspace; somewhere between Google, Amazon and Facebook. Marketing teams serve as the nucleus to attracting these players, designing new player bonuses, free bet programs and other incentives to entice deposits.

In an industry spanning the entire globe (stopping just shy of the United States), gaming operators have many differences. In a first world country, a successful sportsbook might be a publicly traded company with headquarters the size of three Walmarts. These businesses operate under the utmost scrutiny from a regulatory standpoint. In other regions, such as Central America, a well to-do bookmaker might have an office the size of your college dorm. These businesses may rely on degenerates settling up at stuffy sports bars before processing a payout to a customer living thousands of miles away: About all that's regulated is the work day ends when the last game concludes. Unfortunately, it is very difficult for a new player to look at a website and tell the two apart. That's where Sportsbook Review.com comes in.

A new sportsbook is like a used car. It might look nice on the outside but the components under the hood are what really matter. Can the battery stand the test of the time or will it give out if you come across rocky road? SBR strongly suggests that players do their homework, make use of the sportsbook ratings guide, and consider the available information before deciding which online sportsbook is right for them.

Where is the sportsbook licensed?

Sportsbooks that are licensed by gaming authorities typically display the licensor's seal at the footer of their website. Gaming licenses in first world countries require an operator to have far more capital and are therefor harder to obtain than in smaller, less developed countries.

How long has the sportsbook been in business?

The toughest test for a scam sportsbook to pass is that of time. In the information age, there are many services, including Sportsbook Review, which list the length of time a domain has been online. If you wouldn't strike a business deal with some journeyman you barely know, you will also want to refrain from making a deposit to a sportsbook with an unproven track record.

How safe is the bonus structure?

In online gaming bigger is not always better. If an unlicensed sportsbook that has been in business for six months offers a 250% deposit bonus, while a sportsbook licensed in the UK that has operated for a decade offers a 30% bonus, which would you choose? If it's the former - do not pass go and do not deposit $200.

Read the fine print!

Unlike those annoying labels underneath your sofa cushion, or the instruction pamphlet for your flat-screen TV, you probably do want to read a sportsbook's terms and conditions and most especially the bonus program fine print. Shady sportsbook managers attach unusual terms to their welcome bonuses, banking on the belief that most people can't be bothered to read anything. In an instant gratification society, they are often correct. Sportsbook Review.com has reported on five such PointCasino.com bonus confiscations in the last week.

In summary: Things often do not go as planned. If you're a player reading this who feels hopelessly mired in a dispute with an online sportsbook that may not operate in a regulated jurisdiction, SBR wants to help. Submit this sportsbook complaint form and an analyst will follow up on your behalf free of charge. SBR has helped bettors recover more than $5 million since its inception in 1999.